By Imogen Howse via SWNS
Removing the “large” wine glass in pubs and restaurants would help people drink less without affecting revenue, a new study has found.
Researchers from University of Cambridge tasked 21 pubs and bars in England with getting rid of their ‘large’ wine glass option.
The glass contains 250ml or a third of a bottle of wine.
Figures revealed that this led to an average reduction of just under eight percent in the amount of wine sold at pubs and bars.
But publicans wouldn’t lose out as the margins on smaller glasses are higher, so make up the difference.
There was no evidence that sales of beer or cider increased during this time – suggesting that people did not compensate for their reduced wine consumption by drinking more of other alcoholic drinks.
While eight percent is only a modest decrease, the study, published in PLOS Medicine, suggests that removing the largest serving size could be a way of encouraging customers to consume less alcohol.
This could help improve overall population health, given that alcohol consumption is the fifth largest contributor to premature death and disease worldwide.
In 2016, it was estimated to have caused approximately three million deaths worldwide.
First author Dr Eleni Mantzari said: “It looks like when the largest serving size of wine by the glass was unavailable, people shifted towards the smaller options, but didn’t then drink the equivalent amount of wine.
“People tend to consume a specific number of ‘units’ – in this case glasses – regardless of portion size.
“So, someone might decide at the outset they’ll limit themselves to a couple of glasses of wine, and with less alcohol in each glass they drink less overall.”
Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, the study’s senior author, added: “It’s worth remembering that no level of alcohol consumption is considered safe for health, with even light consumption contributing to the development of many cancers.
“But although the reduction in the amount of wine sold at each premise was relatively small, even a small reduction could make a meaningful contribution to population health.”
There are many factors that influence how much we drink, from advertising to labeling to availability and cost.
Evidence suggests that the public prefers information-based interventions – such as health warning labels – to reductions in serving or package sizes, but in this study, managers at just four of the 21 premises reported receiving complaints from customers.
The team at the University of Cambridge noted that while pubs and bar managers may accept the change, given there was no evidence of a loss in revenue, the wider alcohol industry would likely resist the introduction of such a policy given its potential to reduce sales of targeted drinks.
Dr Mantzari added: “We believe that public support for such a policy would depend on its effectiveness, and on how clearly it was communicated.”
Wine was chosen as the target for this study because it is the most popular alcoholic drink in the UK and Europe.
